In identifying problems around the Dallas Cowboys inability to consistently drive down the field and score points, one of the more glaring issues is an inconsistent offensive line unit that has made life increasingly difficult on quarterback Dak Prescott and the running game in a season where neither have been at their best.
Through seven games, Prescott has eight interceptions, the most at this point in the season in his career. Two of those turnovers came from Sunday night’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers including one that saw him underthrow a deep ball to KaVontae Turpin after feeling pressure and taking a shot from 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa.
It was just one of the 75 times this season that Prescott has dealt with pressure in the pocket, a statistic that has led to him being sacked 18 times and has led to offensive inefficiencies.
“We’ve been playing fast, on the ball in two-minute,” offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said. “We’ve been hit with some movement, there’s been times when guys are covered. It’s been different guys, and that’s where we have to take a hard look at it. Are we getting the ball out fast enough? Are we doing enough from protection variation? When they know you’re throwing it, it makes it more difficult for you.”
The inconsistencies can be attributed to two rookie offensive linemen – left tackle Tyler Guyton and center Cooper Beebe – along with an uncharacteristic start to the year for veteran right guard Zack Martin who has given up 16 pressures and two sacks on the year.
In Guyton’s case, he made his return from a knee injury on Sunday after missing the second half of the win against Pittsburgh and the entirety of the loss against Detroit. In the loss against the 49ers, Guyton allowed four pressures and two hits on Prescott.
“I thought he played OK,” head coach Mike McCarthy said. “We helped him a lot…I felt very good about the tweaks and adjustments we’ve made in the practice realm and it didn’t carry over…We need to do a better job and they need to do a better job and we’ll get to the bottom of it.”
Prescott’s first interception has drawn some discussion around if he had a little bit more time to get the ball away, there could have been a different end result. Instead, it gave the 49ers a swing of momentum.
“There’s two types of interceptions, there’s bad decisions and there are those that are affected by things that happened,” Schottenheimer said. “You look at the second interception, Dak would love to have that one back. You look at the first one, he steps up and tries to throw it, he gets hit.”
“The fact is that when the pressure goes up from a protection standpoint, he got caught trying to make a play.”
The Cowboys offensive line unit will have a chance to rebound against an Atlanta Falcons team next week that has generated the least amount of team sacks in the NFL (six) through seven weeks.
“It takes time,” Schottenheimer said. “There are some young pieces up front, but that’s no excuse. We have to be better with it.”